Analysis of electrophysiological activity of surface ECG signals such as ECG (electrocardiogram) signals and intra-cardiac electrograms and time domain parameters of ECG waveforms is used for cardiac arrhythmia detection and diagnosis. The analysis is used to detect P wave disorders for atrial fibrillation (AF) and ST segment changes for myocardial ischemia and infarction, for example. However, known systems for cardiac arrhythmia identification and analysis based on ECG signals are subjective and need extensive expertise and clinical experience for accurate interpretation and appropriate cardiac rhythm management. Furthermore, there is a lack of an accepted standard or criteria for arrhythmia characterization and definition for ICEG signals (intra-cardiac electrograms). In addition to electrophysiological analysis, hemodynamic characteristics are utilized for cardiac pathology and event monitoring and detection, such as blood flow speed in a vessel, blood pressure deviation and hemodynamic excitation propagation in a blood vessel. IVUS (intra-vascular ultrasound) is also used to monitor and detect tissue characteristics and lesions inside a vessel.
Hemodynamic characteristics, such as blood pressure and blood vessel dynamics, are used for cardiac function and pathology detection, diagnosis and quantification. In response to a heart beat and chamber tissue squeezing, blood is pumped through arteries and generates systolic and diastolic blood pressure in artery and vein vessels. Heart derived blood pressure is measured by medical devices to extract heart tissue information and pathology status. For example, in AF (atrial fibrillation) or myocardial ischemia (MI), pumped blood volume and ventricle squeezing power may be reduced due to these pathologies, which may result in drop of blood pressure in an artery and vein vessel. The deviation and changes of blood pressure also affect dynamic characteristics of vessel tissue, especially a tissue wall.
Known monitoring systems fail to adequately detect and characterize arrhythmia and cardiac function using internal blood vessel dynamic mode changes. Known ECG signal and hemodynamic pressure signal monitoring systems fail to accurately and comprehensively track location and timing of a disease and malfunction, such as AF. A system according to invention principles addresses these deficiencies and related problems.